Product Description

Meet the Christ-follower who inspired the idea of Santa Claus! In this 25-day Advent devotional, you'll be inspired by the faith of Nicholas of Myra - a man who was not only a gift-giver in a literal sense, but the benefactor of our best-loved celebration: Christmas. Each reading features Scripture and a historical vignette from St. Nick's life.

Publisher's Description

Experience the Christmas season though this 25-day devotional that focuses on the life and faith of the man who was to become known throughout the world as Nicholas of Myra, St. Nicholas, St. Nick, and finally, Santa Claus: The man of great faith who loved Jesus Christ! Each day's reading centers on a faith-building theme and is accompanied by scripture, devotional thoughts, and an historical vignette from St. Nick's life. Great for personal use, family devotions, or as thoughtful holiday gifts.

Author Bio

ANN NICHOLS (aka Melanie Panagiotopoulos), her husband, and two children reside in the venerable city of Athens, Greece, where she has spent many winter days pouring over dusty tomes in its old libraries and exploring little-known, historic sites where early Christians once lived and died for their faith. Her adventures have clarified her research and given her writing power and authenticity.

An excellent resource for Advent. We purchased enough to give one to each family in our church & challenged them to have a family time around it each night this Advent. I have 2 teenage kids and they enjoyed the information about the REAL St. Nick & it was easy to apply to today for all of us.

I would recommend this product to all churches as a GREAT Advent resource for your families!

A refreshing Advent devotional for the whole family and the child in everyone. The readings restore "Saint" to "Santa Claus" - as they give the true meaning for us to carry forward. They also remind ALL Christians of our heritage of saintly people who inspire us to find our own "saintly-earthly" ministries.

This was a wonderful advent read. It was both interesting and inspirational. How wonderful it would be if we could recapture this perspective on St. Nick as opposed to the commercialism of Santa Claus.

I did not expect the book that I received. I was pleasantly surprised, and enjoyed it so much. I learned about St. Nicholas life and understand how Santa Clause reminds us of the true meaning of Christmas. Thank you.

Author/Artist Review

Tell us a little about yourself. Im a student of history. To learn how people lived before our times  and how they impacted our lives - is one of my favorite things. That and super dark chocolate; dogs and cats of all shapes, sizes and colors; and a good novel on a cold winters night.

What was your motivation behind this project? When my editor at Barbour asked me to put my extensive research about St. Nicholass life and times into a devotional form about his faith, The Faith of St. Nick: An Advent Devotional was born.

What do you hope folks will gain from this project? That everyone will get to know the really remarkable Christian man behind the whimsical legend.

How were you personally impacted by working on this project? Oh my its been life changing. When I took a break - what I thought would be a short break! - from writing novels I had no idea that I was actually embarking upon a major event in my life. Before these nearly two decades of research into the life and times of St. Nicholas (and that includes many others who lived during his times) there was a side of me that was wary of early Christian saints and particularly of those who lived during the 3rd, 4th and 5th centuries. I've since learned the debt of gratitude, thanksgiving and trust we owe them. Their witness is powerful!

Anything else you'd like readers / listeners to know: This book is just the start. Theres so much more to St. Nicholas  Im not done telling his story yet. Merry Christmas!
Thanks so much!